Brussels, 02/08/2013 (Agence Europe) - In a press release on 1 August, the European Youth Forum (EYF) welcomed the decision of the European Commission to take the Netherlands to the European Court of Justice for the Netherlands' discriminatory attitude towards students from other countries of the EU with regard to transport. Unlike Dutch students, students from other countries of the EU are not able to take advantage of reduced public transport fares. “The Youth Forum believes that this form of discrimination cannot be justified and welcomes the decision by the Commission to take action on this”, states the press release. In 2010, the Netherlands had around 28,000 students from other EU member states, from the European Economic Area (EEA) or from EU candidate countries, the EYF states. The discrimination affects Erasmus students too. In its decision of 20 June, the Commission recalled that, wherever they choose to study in the European Union, EU students should enjoy the same rights to services as students of the country in which they are studying (see EUROPE 10871).
Elsewhere, the EYF took part in the United Nations debate on human rights - an event that was held in Geneva on 25-26 July. The discussions were a unique opportunity for re-opening the debate on the human rights of young people in the institutional context of the UN, stated the EYF. The meeting, organised by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, brought together around 25 experts from different regions and organisations. Among the subjects tackled, the participants studied specific legal issues like the age range of youth, the shortcomings and strengths of the current human rights framework for youth, and civil and political rights for young people. They also studied the possibility of providing a platform for the voices of young human rights activists and their views. During the event, particular attention was given to the voice of the young people thanks to the presence of the UN Special Envoy on Youth, an EYF board member and representatives of the Ibero-American Organization on Youth and of the African Union. The EYF announced that it will follow developments on the subject closely and that it will try to contribute actively to the follow-up of this meeting. (IL/transl.fl)